This invention relates to a system and method for pitching a ball, and more particularly to a system and method for controlling ball speed and angle.
Pitching systems have a mechanism for hurling a ball, in which the speed of the ball is variable by controlling the mechanism speed, and the elevation of the ball at a given distance is controlled by the varying the angle at which the mechanism launches the ball. In prior systems, these control features have been implemented mechanically.
More modern systems have motor controls that can be remotely actuated to change ball speed and height. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,653 to Kovacs, incorporated by reference, describes a system that includes a microcomputer for calculation and control of speed and angle. Speed and angle are separately controlled. U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,986 to McGrath, incorporated by reference, discloses a pitching system with a control subsystem in which the user can select a ball speed and the controls set the angle so as to send the ball across a predetermined strike zone. In this system, the ball launch angle is set dependent upon the ball speed setting.
A drawback of these systems is their complexity, both to implement and to use. Kovacs' system is designed for practicing tennis. It has a very complicated user interface that makes it difficult to learn and use for the ordinary casual user of batting cages. The McGrath system attempts to simplify the situation for the casual user by reducing the choices to only ball speed, but in doing so makes the system more complicated to implement, by tying control of ball angle (or tilt) to ball speed. McGrath's system is also harder for users to control. A short or tall batter has a different from average strike zone, but the McGrath system predetermines the ball angle as a function of ball speed. McGrath tries to overcome this deficiency by building a second, tilt-override controller, with UP and DOWN control buttons. This unduly adds to the complexity of the apparatus, and adds another layer of potential confusion for the customer.
Accordingly, a better way is needed to enable users to control both ball speed and angle, or height at a batting position, without being locked into a fixed height strike zone.